Makers Meet: Funding and Grants for makers

January 2026 online session summary

Our most recent Makers Meet focused on one of the topics we receive a lot of questions about from our community: funding.

A huge thank you to Tess Osman from Heritage Crafts for delivering such a generous, insightful and practical presentation on funding opportunities for makers, with a particular focus on Heritage Crafts grants and how to approach applications with confidence and integrity.

Understanding the funding process

Tess walked us through the Heritage Crafts funding application process step by step, including a valuable “behind the scenes” look at what actually happens after you submit an application. This demystified a lot of the application process and helped participants understand how decisions are made, what assessors are looking for, and why feedback can be so useful.

Key advice from Tess included:

• Find the right funder for your project, rather than reshaping your ideas to fit funding criteria
• Don’t corrupt your values, aims or project just to secure funding
• Take time to assess whether now is the right moment to apply, or whether your project needs more development first
• The importance of presenting a clear, realistic and holistic idea/ project/ budget that reflects the full scope of your work

Making use of funder support

We also discussed how valuable it can be to:

• Reach out to funders early with questions
• Make use of available resources such as webinars, eligibility guides and FAQs
• Always ask for feedback if an application is unsuccessful
• Consider applying again after refining and strengthening your proposal

Tess emphasised that an unsuccessful application is not a failure, and that persistence, learning and relationship-building can all be part of the process.

Thinking more broadly about funding

Cat also shared reflections from her own experience, encouraging participants to think more openly and creatively about funding. This included looking beyond woodworking-specific grants and considering funding streams that support for example:

• women, trans and non-binary people
• disabled people, including those with ADHD or ASD
• young people
• mature learners looking to retrain or change careers

Other possible routes discussed included:

• (local) council funding
• Arts Council funding, depending on the nature of the project
• speaking to other makers who have been successful and learning from their experience
• approaching a well-established charity with aligned values to support or even lead an application with/ for you

Participants were encouraged to reach out to Tess or Cat for advice if they feel stuck, and to see funding as something that can be learned rather than an exclusive or inaccessible process.

Shared resources

Listed in our library you now find:

• Tess’s presentation slides
• A Funding Map put together by Cat, aimed at makers, grassroots organisations and community groups

Please note: the Funding Map is intended as a starting point. Some funds may not be open at the moment or details may change, but many opportunities reopen on a rolling basis and are worth revisiting.

The next Maker’s Meet is on the 17th February 2026, 7-8PM.